Lucknow, February 20: The Yogi government has presented the largest Budget in the history of Uttar Pradesh, reinforcing its commitment to women and labour welfare. Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, while presenting the annual Budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the assembly on Thursday, announced a budget of Rs 8.08 lakh crore—9.8% higher than the previous year. The Budget includes several key provisions aimed at empowering women and improving labour welfare across the state.

The Budget lays significant emphasis on women’s welfare through various schemes. Notably, under the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, over 96 lakh rural families have benefited. The BC Sakhi Scheme has facilitated financial transactions worth Rs 31,103 crore at the village level through 39,556 BC Sakhi, enabling them to earn dividends of Rs 84.38 crore. Similarly, the Lakhpati Mahila Yojana has identified over 31 lakh women, of whom more than 2 lakh have become "Lakhpati Didis."

Furthermore, under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, around 1.86 crore women have received gas connections, with the state government providing two free cylinders to beneficiaries. The Mahila Shakti Yojana is also being implemented to establish women-led producer companies in the state.

To encourage higher education among girls, the government has introduced a Scooty Distribution Scheme for meritorious students based on eligibility criteria. Additional initiatives, including the construction of girls' hostels, Meena-Manch, self-defense training, and gender sensitization programs, are being implemented to support female education. The Residential School Scheme, active in 12 districts, provides free education for 100 boys and girls in each school.

Special budgetary provisions have also been made for women and child development, with Rs 2980 crore designated for the ‘Nirashrit Mahila Pension Yojana’ to support destitute women and Rs 700 crore for the ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana’, Additionally, Rs 170 crore has been allocated for constructing Chief Minister Shramik Mahila Hostels in seven cities, including Varanasi, Meerut, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, and Agra.

The budget also proposes Rs 252 crore for the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Bal Seva Yojana, aimed at supporting children who lost their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further provisions include Rs 4,119 crore for the ‘Poshahar Program’ under Integrated Child Development Services, Rs 971 crore for additional honorariums to Anganwadi workers and assistants, and Rs 100 crore for the Mukhyamantri Saksham Suposhan Yojana to improve child nutrition.

The Yogi government has also prioritized labour welfare through various schemes and financial assistance programs for workers. Under the Maternity Shishu and Balika Madad Yojana, 6,22,974 beneficiaries have been supported till September 2024. The ‘Nirman Kamgar Mrtyu Va Divyangta Sahayata Yojana’ has provided benefits to 41,453 workers.

Additionally, the ‘Kanya Vivah Sahayata Yojana’ offers Rs 55,000 for intra-caste marriages and Rs 61,000 for inter-caste marriages of registered workers’ daughters. Under the Nirman Kamgar Gambhir Bimari Sahayata Yojana, construction workers receive 100% reimbursement for serious illness treatments in government hospitals.

Apart from this, Atal Residential Schools have been established across all divisions, with a capacity of 360 children each, offering free, high-quality education to the children of construction workers. This capacity is set to expand to 1,000 students per school in the future. At present, banking facilities are being provided through a total of 4,40,095 banking centres, including 20,416 branches of banks, 4,00,932 Bank Mitra and BC Sakhi and 18,747 ATMs in the state.

During the Budget speech, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna highlighted Uttar Pradesh's leadership in national welfare schemes, ranking first with 9.57 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 6.52 crore enrollments in PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, 2.28 crore in PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, and 1.12 crore beneficiaries under the Atal Pension Yojana.